


Blood as Red as Ruby-Painted Lips

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: BEWARE SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION ERRORS OKAY, Boarding School AU, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-16 22:28:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1364011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You have just begun attending Sina Coed Boarding Academy recently and have easily made friends with your "quirky charm" and "dazzling personality," or so you claim. But will that be enough to make it through the entire year when your platonic feelings for your best friend start to change?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Blondie"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you enter the story and nicknames are discussed.

“The one-month anniversary of the start of the school year is today,” you told your roommate, Sasha Braus, as you put your hairbrush down on the nightstand next to your bed and finish putting up your untangled locks into a ponytail.

“I guess that’s kind of cool,” Sasha responded while shoving a large handful of sour-patch kids into her mouth. You laughed quietly when you see her eyes bulge out of her skull.

“So you’re just used to being without your family for more than a whole month?” That seemed completely bogus to you, who happens to be not so good with separation from the people you love.

“My family members are complete butts, and I kind of consider my friends here my family, so yes if you mean when it is my biological family.”

“That’s quite poetic,” you remarked with a smile.

Sasha almost scowled, but she couldn’t due to the next handful of candy that she shoved in her mouth. “Ith true,” she said, mouth full.

You snatched your binder from your desk, said goodbye to Sasha, and walked off to homeroom, your first class. At first, you thought it would be kind of useless considering you do, in fact, attend a boarding school (specifically Sina Coed Boarding Academy on the east coast of America), but you had been starting to look forward to it. It was the only time of day that you got to share with all of your new friends when they aren’t all drained of energy from their classes.

When you arrived, you found Armin sitting at a desk towards the middle of the classroom. He seemed to be deeply absorbed in a book. You grinned, seeing as he was one of your favorite people to be around and you wouldn’t currently have to share him with anyone. You quickly snuck up behind him and tap the top of his head.

“Good morning blondie,” you said breezily, causing him to whip his head around and meet your gaze. His startled and distressed expression fades as his lips melted into a small smile and sea-blue eyes widened. Then, his face fell into a mock-pout.

“I do recall I have asked you to not call me blondie,” he complained to you, “Armin would suffice.”

“But that’s lame- everyone calls you that.”

“It’s my name though.”

“Ugh,” you said playfully, “don’t sass me, Mister Arlert.”

“I shall do whatever I wish,” Armin said with a dramatic wave of his hand and turned back to his book, “and you shall not have the final say.”

You immediately pulled up a chair from a desk next to Armin and stuck it on the other side of his desk.

“If I’m not allowed to call you blondie, then what else is there?” You placed both elbows on the desk and cup your cheek in one hand.

“Didn’t I just say Armin would work?”

“And didn’t I just tell you that was lame?”

Armin made sure you saw him roll his eyes at you as he leaned back in his chair and put his book closer to his face.

You opened your binder to a section that had clean, crisp, white paper and began to doodle a terrible picture of the boy in front of you. No one would have been able to tell it was him except for the fact that you labeled your masterpiece ‘Blondie’ when you were finished.

“I mean, blondie is better than bowlcut, right?” You grin at him, waiting for a response.

“They’re both equally as bad, and no more will be said on that matter,” Armin declared as he gently kicked you beneath the desk.

“I’m just going to call you bowlcut and blondie now.”

“[Name], don’t you dare.”

“What are you going to do to stop me, huh?” You kicked him back in revenge, harder than you meant to.

Armin winced quietly as you immediately apologized. You then let him return to reading and waited approximately five minutes, which was when Marco Bodt entered the room. He briefly looked around before deciding to join you and ‘blondie’.

 

 


	2. "The Art of Making Plans"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which plans are discussed and not actually made while memories of the prior year are fondly recalled.

Soon the room is full of students and each and every one of your friends is gathered together in the classroom's middle. You still had your seat across from Armin secured and you don't dare get up even though you kind of had to pee. Someone would most likely take it, seeing as standing is uncomfortable.

And you currently wished more than anything that a conversation would start up soon. But seen as how bad you normally were at starting conversations, you couldn't do anything to help it. Sure there was talking from time to time, but it was just mutterances of, "I'm so bored," and "yo, me too." At least, that's how it was until Sasha said something to break the silence.

"Guys, we should totally sneak out to the roof this week because it's gonna be a full moon and you can see all the stars and stuff," she suggusted happily, and rather loudly. Connie shushed her while everyone else contemplated the idea.

"Do you even know how to get to the roof?" You were beginning to suspect that Sasha was constantly coming up with similar plights.

"Students having roof access does seem rather unlikely," Marco added quickly, almost in a whisper, as a few other students passed the group by.

"Right, you guys weren't here last semester," Eren scoffed, "We had a huge-ass party on the roof a few times a-"

"Hey Jaeger, watch the fucking language," Jean cut him off with a snort, earning a few giggles from Sasha and Marco, along with a hateful glance from Eren.

"At least my identical twin can't be found in a horse stable."

"Horse jokes at my expense? Really? You haven't stepped up your game from age 15 a single bit," Jean said while sticking his tounge out at Eren.

"Go stick your head up your-"

"Now is not the time for this," Armin interjected, immediately silencing both parties, and turned to Sasha, "That sounds like a great idea Sasha. Perhaps we shall coordinate the event and plan it later?"

Sasha agreed with an enthusiastic nod in the blond's direction, "It'll be better than last time, I promise!"

"If I'm allowed in ask," you began curiously, "Did something bad happen before?"

Jean laughed at your question and Eren looked ready to flip him off.

"These two were playing 'say uncle' and Jean won right before Eren fell off the roof," Mikasa said as if it was common knowledge.

Connie appeared as if regarding a fond memory, "What a magical night."

"Magical indeed," Eren said sarcastically, "Don't forget the part where these two started making out." He then waved his hand in Ymir and Christa's direction, "talk about full homo."

Ymir scowls at Eren and wraps and arm around the petite girl at her side. "At least I have a girlfriend," she said, almost in a snarl.

"Look out for raging lesbians today, folks," Connie announced in the way a news anchorman would do. He was promptly elbowed in the gut by a giggling Sasha.

"Those are the kind of things that I'm counting on to happen," you said, "you know, for interesting memories.

"Be careful what you wish for, [Name]," Armin says without looking up from his book, "or else-"

"It might come back and bite you in the ass," Reiner interupted loudly and was immediately repremanded by the teacher in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry but I really can't not have Reiner saying something about asses.


	3. "The First Signs"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you declare undying hatred for triangles and dreams are starting to puzzle you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, this is the chapter in which I'm going to introduce dreams that kind of correspond with the canonverse. All of the in-dream stuff will be all italics and shit.

The teacher of homeroom shooed every student off to their next class the exact second the period was over. Because you were sitting down, along with Armin, you had to wait for most of the commotion to be over before leaving the classroom.

"Come on blondie, hurry up," you told him as you jumped out of the homeroom classroom and into a brightly lit, well-windowed hallway, "If we're a single second late we'll be practically dead."

Armin sighed in disaproval at the nickname but brushed it off, "Learned from experience?"

"Partly," you replied, "some of it is watching Eren parade in late like he thinks it's 15 minutes before class starts."

"That's just how he is," Armin stated, "He thinks rules don't apply to him. Much like you seem to think when it comes to nicknaming me."

"Don't be stupid, it's a good nickname."

"Wasn't there a Barbie commercial in which Ken refers to Barbie as 'blondie' though?"

"Oh geez," you said, making a gesture like you were vomiting, "Wait, why do you know this?"

"It was a Superbowl commercial once or something," Armin answered quickly.

"Barbie being advertised at a football event?"

"I don't know, have you seen half the commercials they run?"

You nod in agreement and soon enter your next class, math, and rushed to your assigned seat. It was towards the front and by the door, nothing like where stereotypical anime students would be seated. The only downsides to your placement was the fact you had to work 24/7 as well as the fact that if anyone stopped by and made a ridiculous face while walking through the halls, you'd be the first to see them.

The teacher promptly wrote several things on the board and passed out lessons that couldn't be found in your textbook. You almost groaned; while you were decent at math, you were getting sick of it. Actually, one month in and you were already stating that you "were so done with everything involving numbers and variables and all that stuff, especially triangles," and then you were immediately reminded by Armin that education is important even if you don't like it.

You did as much of the lesson on paper as you could, rushing and rather adamant that you didn't have to check your work twice, as you listened to the teacher occasionally address the class about a problem that multiple students asked for help to solve.

Because the period was beginning to appear endless, you began to let your eyes wander around the room. You caught Christa and Ymir giving each other loving glances, although it seemed difficult for Ymir to do for more than a second or two. You also found Jean tapping on Marco’s shoulder to ask for help often. Perhaps way too often, once you thought about it. You pick out each and every one of your friends to see if they’re staring longingly at a certain individual, and none of them are. Well, Armin wasn't really staring at anybody but he’d look at you every once in a while. After catching him for the fifth or so time, you make eye contact and decide to humor him with a wink and a grin. This seemed to make him somewhat shaken, and he whipped his head back to his work almost immediately.

“What a weenie,” you think aloud in a whisper. You were obviously just teasing.

 

_You practically teared down Armin’s door when you entered his room to find him sitting cross-legged on the floor. The room was too clean, most likely the result of Commander Levi’s morning and nightly inspections._

_“You said you’d let me fight,” you growl angrily at Armin, trying to get him to look up from his plans and sketches meant for planning the Scouting Regiment’s next expedition, “You promised me, god fucking damn it, you swore upon your life.”_

_“But-” The blond stares up at you through his bangs, bright blue eyes wide with distress._

_“I don’t want excuses!” Now your voice is a yell and you look ready to throttle the boy in front of you._

_“Then what are you yelling at me for!”_

_“I am useless if I can’t fight!”_

_“Have you considered that you have a minuscule amount of training?”_

_“Then teach me!”_

_“But I can’t!”_

_“Then find someone to show me how, I don’t care. I can’t stay back here; I’m useless. My brain isn’t as... whatever yours is that mine isn’t!”_

_“I’m just trying to keep you safe, it’s not like you have family to avenge or anything!”_

_You clench your fists together in an attempt to not unleash a wordless scream. As far as you knew, yes, your family was still alive. But they were the last ones to board an escape ship, right before you could. Sometimes it was worse than knowing they were dead for sure; you’d never know if they were still surviving, and they’d never know if you still walked this earth. It was the kind of thing that kept you up all night for days in a kind of soul-searching manner._

_You took a deep breath and exited Armin’s room, slamming the door behind you. You closed it just before he could address the matter further._

_“I... I just want to see the ocean with you one day.”_

  
Your eyes flutter open to the feeling of morning sunlight across your face. The sun’s first rays were just beginning to peek bravely over the horizon. You see Sasha is still sound asleep, a trail of drool down her cheek, when you turn over and become pretty much tied up in your blankets. You always knew dreams that you could remember, much less dreams that had people you knew in them, were weird.


End file.
